France Under Water and in the Sun: 270 Municipalities Apply for Natural Disaster Status

February 2026 will go down in French meteorological history as a month of extreme contrasts. The country was shaken by a wave of floods, followed by a sharp rise in temperatures leading to new heat records. The most difficult hydrological situation is in western departments such as Charente-Maritime, Maine-et-Loire, and Loire-Atlantique. In the town of Saintes, the city center became almost impassable, and local businesses began assessing damage after water entered commercial premises. In the town of Cheffes-sur-Sarthe, a historic water level was recorded, forcing residents to evacuate and later engage in a tedious battle with mud after the waters receded. France regularly struggles with floods in the Loire and Seine river basins, but their intensification in recent decades is linked by scientists to progressing climate change and disruption of rainfall seasonality.The government has taken steps to support affected local authorities. Laurent Nuñez, head of the interior ministry, reported receiving over two hundred and seventy applications for recognition of a state of natural disaster. This procedure is crucial for releasing funds from insurance pools and the central budget. Meanwhile, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, thermometers showed 28.4 degrees Celsius, an unprecedented value for the winter period. Meteorologists emphasize that such a high thermal anomaly, while favorable for strollers, exacerbates problems with the disrupted ecosystem and rapid melting of any snow cover in higher mountain areas. According to the latest forecasts from Météo-France, the coming weekend will bring calmer weather, though temperatures are expected to cool. The number of departments under an orange alert has decreased from four to three, but the water recession process will last for many more days. Authorities urge caution, especially in floodplains where the ground is completely waterlogged, which may lead to local landslides or basement flooding despite the absence of new rainfall.